A PIECE OF MY HEART...parchment leads us to the well

PARCHMENT...

It starts with dry lips!

Your tongue feels swollen!

You feel light headed!

PSALM 63:1 "O God, You are my God, earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water."

We have all been so parched that the only thing that would quench our thirst was a tall glass of ice cold water! Parchment is not only a feeling we get when we are thirsty in our body. But, sometimes weariness of life will parch our soul. Every footstep throughout our day feels increasingly heavy and difficult. It may be from circumstances or regretted choices. The Samaritan woman might have felt this way as she traveled to the well....

THE WELL SAT OUTSIDE OF THE TOWN OF SYCHAR IN SAMARIA...

• Though there were water resources available nearer, it was better to get her water farther away.
• It was also better to retrieve the water when the sun was high in the sky.
• The other Samaritan women would not be fetching their water at that time.
• No one would be around to sneer at her or whisper behind her back.
• No one would be found to be saying things like, "That's that wretched woman who has had many husbands, stay away from her."

As the woman worked her way along the road, she might have passed by twelve Jewish men who were traveling toward town to purchase the supplies for the day.

~She would not speak to them~

~They would NEVER speak to her because she was a Samaritan~

Jews had a long-standing feud with the Samaritans, seeing them as a mixed breed, cursed, and not fit to live. Just being a woman, the men might avoid her - especially her.

JESUS SAT AT THE SIDE OF THE WELL WAITING...

• He would be there until the disciples returned with their purchases.
• But, before they came back, He would be there for the Samaritan woman.
• She arrived carrying her empty water pot...she noticed the stranger.
• It was another Jew - sitting by the well.
• She would get her water and leave quickly.

"Could I have a drink?" - He asked.

Startled, she turned to Him, "You are a Jew. Why is it that you are asking me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink? Jews do not have anything to do with Samaritans."

Instead of reacting to her defensive reply, with compassion He told her something even more amazing...

"If you understand the gift of God, and Who it is Who is asking you for water, you would have asked Him for living water."

The Samaritan woman would soon find out that this man who waited at the well for her, knew everything there was to know about her. He knew every detail, every hurt and every mistake.

Jesus knows YOU as well as He knew the Samaritan woman. He knows your frustration. He knows your loneliness. He knows your deepest sorrow.

Day by day, you have sat by your well of hurts and disappointments. The living water that was offered to the woman at the well is available to us today. This living water is what will quench the parchment that you feel in your spirit. It will wash away all of the regrets and bad memories - forever!

You can walk away from your well today seeing yourself as God sees you...beautiful, loved and forgiven!

MATTHEW 5:6

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for

righteousness, for they shall be filled."

Now that's a piece of my heart today!